Fri. Mar. 14, 2014 (ST. LOUIS) – Today, Better Together – a grassroots project sponsored by the Missouri Council for a Better Economy (MCBE) – announces the launch of its Economic Development Study. Co-chaired by Denny Coleman, CEO, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership; and Brian Murphy, chief operator and sole owner of BAM Contracting, the study will also benefit from expertise provided by a committee of 18 community and business leaders, and business owners.
“This is the second of six community-based studies examining how municipal services are delivered to the people who live within the boundaries of St. Louis City and St. Louis County,” said Nancy Rice, executive director, Better Together. “The Economic Development Study will take a look at what economic development tools currently exist, as well as who and what organizations are using them.”
Benefits of existing tools will also be studied, including incentives such as tax credits and TIFs. Additionally, the study will capture and catalogue municipal regulations in a public, searchable library that will be housed on the Better Together website. The library will include such information as how to go about getting a business license in a particular municipality and what licenses are required by a specific municipality.
“We are delighted that Denny Coleman and Brian Murphy have agreed to lend their expertise to this important study,” said Ambassador George Herbert (Bert) Walker, III, chairman, Better Together. “Their guidance and direction, coupled with input from the Economic Development Study Committee members, are sure to serve this important segment of our project well.”
Rice said, “Denny and Brian have already played a significant role in helping us design this study. Our advisory committee is diverse and participants come from all over St. Louis and represent different sectors in the economy. Each member is working with Better Together in our effort to amplify the voices of hundreds of St. Louisans as we review the delivery of services by our local governments. Every one of these people work hard and we are grateful that they are making the time to participate with Better Together.”
Economic Development Study Committee members include: Doug Dolan, owner, Dolan Realty Advisors; Rob Boyle, founder & owner, Justine PETERSON; Chris Chung, president & CEO, Missouri Partnership; Betsy Cohen, project director, Immigration & Innovation Initiative at World Trade Center; Monica Conners, vice president – business retention & expansion, business development, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership; Anna Crosslin, president & CEO, International Institute of St. Louis; Melissa Kelley, senior director, communications & community development, Partnership for Downtown St. Louis; Alex Lee, director of legal affairs, Centric; Sheila Little-Forest, president, Afro-World Hair & Fashion Company; Paul Martin, senior vice president, U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management; Sal Martinez, executive director, Community Renewal and Development; Beth Noonan, vice president of innovation and entrepreneurship, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership; Doug Rasmussen, senior vice president – business development, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership; Chris Sommers, owner, founder, Pi Givver, Sqwid; Jay Swoboda, MX District Manager; James Webb, president & CEO, Minority Business Council; Jason Deem, owner, Southside Spaces; Anela Barbanell, treasurer, Bosnian Chamber of Commerce.
About Better Together
Better Together launched in Nov. 2013, as a grassroots project sponsored by the Missouri Council for a Better Economy (MCBE). Born in response to growing public interest in addressing the fragmented nature of local government throughout St. Louis City and St. Louis County, Better Together is driving an inclusive, transparent process of developing and assembling valuable information other organizations can use to craft their own plans for what the future of the region should look like.
Today, 1.3 million people who call St. Louis home are served by 115 local governments, which include St. Louis City and St. Louis County, as well as 90 municipalities and 23 fire districts. The costs associated with funding all 115 governments has reached $2 billion per year, underscoring the need to revisit the discussion to reunite the region
